Richard Kettleborough spent hours bowling in the nets to the Little Master at
Headingley when they were both 19, now he is umpiring his last Test

Sachin Tendulkar can expect no favours from a man who used to bowl to him in the nets when the 'Little Master' begins his 200th and final Test at his home ground on Thursday.

Richard Kettleborough is one of the standing umpires in Mumbai – along with fellow Englishman Nigel Llong, the former Kent batsman – but two decades ago he was a member of Yorkshire’s academy whose duties included net bowling for Tendulkar after he became the county’s first overseas player in 1992. Despite his long-standing friendship with one of cricket’s all-time greats, and the hysteria in India before the landmark occasion, Kettleborough insists he will not be swayed.

“It’s Tendulkar-crazy over here at the moment and everyone is building up to his 200th Test,” Kettleborough said. “He’s a huge personality and the eyes of the world are going to be on the Mumbai Test because one of the greats, if not the greatest player, is retiring. But as umpires we have to try to forget the occasion and we have to manage the occasion rather than letting the occasion manage us.

“It’s a Test match which is a big occasion anyway and in that sense it’s no different to any other game. There will be a big crowd in wanting him to succeed, but if he nicks one first ball or it hits his pads and I think it’s out, then he will have to go, I’m afraid, because I have got a professional job to do.”

When Kettleborough encountered Tendulkar they were both just 19 but they were already inhabiting very different cricketing worlds. “We were the same age, but he was already an established Test player and I was trying to make my way in Yorkshire’s academy,” Kettleborough said. “I used to go and watch him bat in the nets because you could see, even at that age, that he had an unbelievable talent but he also worked so hard on his game.

“We also used to have to come in and bowl to him in the nets which was a pretty thankless task. I can’t recall ever beating the bat let alone coming close to getting him out. He has gone on to become a great player, but it’s not just the record he has on of the field, it’s the way that he has handled himself. I’ve never had any issues with him, he’s always been as good as gold and a pleasure to umpire.”